Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Bruce Willis Lists Beverly Hills Estate

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Middle aged—and still procreating—action flick actor Bruce Willis is in the mood to shuffle his extensive residential real estate holdings in both the Big Apple and the City of Angels.

In New York City the smooth pated and famously smirky Die Hard franchise superstar owns a five bedroom and four bathroom condo crib at the full service Trump Place complex on the west side of Lincoln Center that was listed on the open market in February (2013) for $11,650,000 and is currently in contract with an unknown buyer for an unknown price. In mid-March Mister Willis and his considerably younger second missus, Emma Heming, shelled out, according to property records, $8,850,000 for U2 Bassist Adam Clayton's stunning three bedroom and four bathroom park-facing cooperative apartment at the distinguished Eldorado building on Central Park West.*

Back on the Left Coast, much to this jaded celebrity property gossip's mild surprise, Mister and Missus Willis Number Two have hoisted their large but hardly behemoth Beverly Hills, CA mansion on the open market with a beastly $22,000,000 price tag.

Current listing information shows the 1928 Spanish style residence sits tightly on a shy acre parcel in a prime section of lower Beverly Hills—it is, after all, less than half a mile to the posh and plummy Beverly Hills Hotel—and has 11 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms in 10,379 square feet of fully renovated, updated and upgraded interior space. The Los Angeles County Tax Man's public records show the 2012 property taxes rang up to a stomach upsetting $114,838.

Listing details are—as of this minute—painfully slim but listing photographs show an airy double-height entry that connects through to a roomy formal living room with wood floors, wood burning fireplace, and exposed wood beam ceiling. There's an unnecessarily large enclosed loggia and the formal dining room broods with wine colored walls above medium brown wood wainscoting, a barrel vaulted ceiling covered in some sort of repetitive pattern texture that could be tin or carved wood or wall paper or any number of other materials. Wide banks of glass doors in both the living and dining rooms open to a central courtyard decked out with little more than a few plants, a couple chairs and a rugged stone fountain.

The spacious kitchen has a long center island with snack counter, Old School honey bee tile flooring, and, behind the top quality commercial style range, a tiled back splash where a green tiled rectangle has the words "Spring Street" spelled out in reversed out white tiles, an homage to the New York City subway system that doesn't make sense to Your Mama in a Beverly Hills kitchen.

Although it appears to Your Mama that most of the public rooms orient themselves to the interior courtyard—in some cases the quickest route from one part of the house to another—the angled back of the house opens through a couple of arched glass doors to back yard. Looking past the nagging notion that the rear facade lacks any convincing architectural authenticity, the backyard includes a small patch of grass and a large deck that encircles a long rectangular swimming pool.

At the butt end of the irregularly shaped lot there's a lighted tennis court that backs up to a service alley that runs behind a handful of other similarly sized mini-estates and mansions. Some of the nearby estates and homses are owned by L.A. luminaries like mega-resort building multi-billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, the inestimable coochie-cooer Charo, Peter Falk's widow Shera, and 3-D technology tycoon Joshua Greer who, in 2011, paid fellow tech tycoon turned big-time philanthropist David Bohnett $23 million for a nearly 10,000 square foot white brick Georgian on a double lot.

Mister Willis's real estate portfolio runs deep and the Hollywood staple won't be without a Tinseltown bedsit once he sells his big Bev Hills residence. He also owns a 2,900 square foot ranch style residence off Mulholland Drive in the 90210 but it's not known—at least to Your Mama—if Mister and second Missus Willis intend to occupy the property.

*Mister Willis's propert portfolio currently also includes (but may not be limited to) a number of residential and commercial holdings in and around itty-bitty Hailey, ID.listing photos: Hilton & Hyland

I've gotten used to Platinum Triangle inflated listing prices to the point where I automatically mentally adjust the price down to where I think it should realistically be, but isn't this one pushing that envelope an unreasonable step too far? It's nice, but not remarkable architecturally, and 99% of it's older home character has been completely erased. Add the fact that it's on a busy street.. and I think he'll be lucky to get half of what he's asking.

"It's nice, but not remarkable architecturally, and 99% of it's older home character has been completely erased."

How true -- an old aerial view shows a pre-remodel sorely in need of some TLC -- perhaps he hopes to recoup some of the investment?

Add the fact that there is a rather unsympathetic modern addition that sits off the back like a bloated goiter (although the remodel has disguised it somewhat), and I too cannot imagine it going for more than $15M at most -- despite its provenance.

Yea, totally overpriced, not worth buying for this price or anywhere near. Beverly Hills is getting ridiculous with these prices, this ain't Manhattan. These homes won't be nearly worth these prices in a couple of years.

I have to imagine that the rooms are all organized around that central courtyard because it sits on a heavily trafficked stretch of Benedict Canyon, so possibly to keep the road noise to a minimum? Otherwise, I think I have to agree I was hoping to see more original detailingon the interiors, but parts of the house (perhaps in the "bloated goiter" of an addition?) look like they could have been taken in a Calabasas McMansion and not a 1928 vintage Beverly Hills estate...but, all that being said, given the current hyper-inflated state of the super-luxury real estate market, I would not be at all surprised if it goes quickly, and at close to (if not over!) ask...

Madonna is having fun with hers on a more traffic street for the same price.Again flat acre in 90210-8million,house 4-4.5 million,1 millionfor landscaping,furnishings and celeb factor.13.8 million tops and that is a real full flat all usable acre (43560 square feet-not 2 acres but only 25000 square feet usable because you are on a hell of a incline)